One obsessive Canadian's review of everything going on in Lucha Libre.

Tuesday, September 12, 2006

Arenas De Chicago 1/29/2006:

I will be stealing the match listing and comparing to notes based on what cubsfan wrote about the show here -> http://www.thecubsfan.com/cmll/updates/002323.php

Cubs told me to watch the second night before the first night and who am I to argue with someone who thinks the Cubs have a shot of winning the World Series?

Production on the DVD was really impressive as they had different camera angles and the crowd SEEMED to be mic'ed properly which is important for a Lucha Libre show. I say SEEMED b/c there were times where you'd expect to hear a pop but didn't hear one until a few seconds later. Not a big deal though.

Silueta Azul vs Yoko Yamamoto: Been a few days since I originally saw this but I recall it being quite bad. Yamamoto had a manager with him who interfered right from the start. This is the type of match that REALLY should have been one fall but they dragged it out for three. Only the promoter knows why. Azul wins of course b/c it really should be illegal to have the rudo go over in the opener(Bihari Booking 101). Yamamoto ends up turning on his manager. I'm not sure if this is the conclusion to a local angle or just a one night deal.

Angel De La Muerte & Mascara De Jade vs Angel Dorado & Leproshty(WTF?): I have no clue who is who although I assume Angel Dorado was in yellow? He blew a ton of stuff and I really didn't like him. I'll also assume Angel De La Muerte was in black? He blew a ton of stuff as well and I really didn't like him. You know... I actually really didn't like this match. Thankfully it seemed to be a hot crowd so they weren't gonna let this mess bring them down. I've seen California indy Lucha shows with matches like this where they just suck all the life out of the crowd and it's not a pretty sight.

Lupillo/Rayo Lasser/SWAT Kat vs Guerrerito Del Futuro/Coco Verde/Coco Negro: So as legend goes, one wrestler from my old favorite stable Los Cadetes Del Espacio now lives in Chicago and wrestles quite often - that wrestler being Discovery. I swear I remember cubs saying he thought Discovery was Rayo Lasser. Now granted I haven't seen Discovery wrestle since 1999... but his style was very obvious. Now this Lupillo guy(Lupillo was the bald guy, right? If not, I have no point for rambling) seemed to match all of Discovery's old charachteristics, right down to the entire not giving a crap about the match while on the apron and doing the exact same sequence Discovery used to do during all his matches with the 360 armdrag. Coincidence? Perhaps. Rayo Lasser seemed too short and unathletic to be Discovery for sure. But who knows... cubs has seen Discovery live in the last 8 years whereas I haven't. A lot can change in 8 years. But onto the match itself... I quite liked it. I'm sure some of you have seen it already since cubs uploaded it. Los Payasos are definitely not the IWRG guys but they are quite good in their own right. Guerrerito is 100% definitely Espectrito II. I liked what I saw throughout the match. Some nice exchanges and good comedy. The second fall ending was a bit of a mess but it happens. Lupillo did a nice plancha to the outside while covered in blood. Crowd really seemed to enjoy all these guys and they had the benefit of following that previous match. Would like to see more from these guys, especially Lupillo, Guerrerito and the Payasos.

I think I saw torgaman during the previous match in a white/red shirt at ringside moving chairs. Yes? No?

Atomo and Principe Unlimited vs Shamu Jr. & Aguila Del America: I've actually seen two of these guys! Unlimited and Shamu Jr. were on some of the old California indy tapes I have laying around. I remember liking them. Why were they brought in though? Does it have something to do with this also being billed an FMLL show? Pretty good match here with the SoCal/TJ veterans doing a bunch of neat stuff. Principe Unlimited did some cool flying including a frankensteiner to the outside and a sweet asai moonsault in the third fall. Atomo didn't look as good but held up his part of the match. I hate how they set up for double dives at the end, made sure to do their a few second apart so the fans could react to both but even with post-production being done on the show - they still missed whatever it was Atomo did! When I used to edit videos, I'd actually go back and re-edit stuff if I saw I missed a big move! I liked the finish b/c the Code Red is one of my favorite moves. Great way to setup the main event.

Mistico & La Parka vs Dr. Wagner Jr. & Rey Bucanero: ... and 13 minutes later the match begins.:P The atmosphere was pretty electric although I rightly assumed that a match like this would be much better to see live than on tape/DVD just b/c I expected lots of stalling and brawling into the crowd. I gotta point out there were security guys at ringside although one wonders WHY? Every time Parka and Wagner took it into the crowd, security always seemed to be watching and would be two or three steps behind wherever they went. At one point Wagner lost his mask and Parka was teasing like he was gonna throw it into the crowd so of course a bunch of kids run up to him to try and grab the mask with no security in sight. One of the guys taking pictures actually had to act as a human shield for Parka for a few seconds.:) I knew Parka wasn't throwing the mask into the crowd though, Wagner could easily sell that to someone for some extra cash so the ref stole it back and presumably gave it to Wagner when he came back to the ring. As expected... lots of comedy to stretch the match out but it's the kinda shtick you don't get to see too much these days when you can actually hear the crowd responding unlike IWRG TV. Rudos took the first fall. Tecnicos fought back and nailed double tope suicidas in the second fall and ended up winning in the ring with a Parka roll-up and La Mistica, which pretty much guaranteed Mistico would not be involved in the finish of the match.:) It was actually interesting to see Mistico and Bucanero taking a background role to Parka/Wagner's shtick. Mistico didn't look too comfortable unlike Bucanero who seemed to be used to it and having a fun time just taking his bumps whenever it was time. Mistico seemed hesitant to do stuff as I assume he's used to always being the center of attention in Mexico no matter where the match takes place. Something like that should always be considered over the next few years when rumors start to come up about Mistico doing a Japan tour or having a stint in TNA. I don't think at this point in his career he would do well, even with his jaw-dropping spots. The third fall was really good and had a bunch of neat spots and neat comedy spots. The one thing I disliked was when they seemed to stop the match for no reason and started doing mic work. I guess that would be something that works better live though b/c you are reacting to what is going on whereas watching on tape/DVD, it just feels like they are stalling. Mistico ended up nailing Bucanero with a slingshot tornillo that the camera guy totally missed even though he was RIGHT THERE! The finish was a bit awkward as the ref raised Parka's hand and I really didn't hear any sort of pop until he raised it a second time and they announced who really won the match by DQ. Overall, one of the most entertaining matches I've seen all year long.

From match 3 and on, it was a very good show. I guess if you're attending a smaller indy show, you have to expect those types of opening matches. Though I've seen MUCH worse on some of the SoCal indy shows I have. The main event is obviously the show stealer and the type of match you can pretty much assume those same four guys work throughout Mexico whenever they are programmed together. Cubs, you're a lucky guy to have seen it live!

Now... do I dare watch the first night or wait a day or two so the matches don't seem too similar?

1 Comments:

The guy who was wrestling in Chicago as Discovery - with the same mask - was a short, stocky guy, built quite like Rayo Lasser and not Lupillo (who is the bald guy.) So Lupillo couldn't have been Discovery.